Although legally they’ve actually registered those names, it’s in complete bad faith. It’s with our legal advisers. We want to make it clear it has nothing to do with us.

It’s not clear if the ‘Brabham Grand Prix’ team which claims to have lodged an entry for 2010 is related to the German company behind the BT92. But the Brabham family are understood to be unhappy with this new use of their historic name.

All of which makes you wonder how credible this purported entry really is.

14 comments on New row over use of Brabham name

Filling the spaces to try to get FOTA to fold?
In Italy there is a rumour that Force India have signed but I haven`t seen any verification of this in the English speaking media yet.
If it`s true it`s a case of Then There Were Eight.

Strangely, the Brabham or Formtech ‘team’ seems half credible, since they’ve acquired the former Super Aguri premises, with at least some manufacturing facilities. The row for the Brabham name makes it less credible, though.

Isn’t it the same with March? That somebody else bought the brandname after the original company went broke?

Jack Brabham sold Brabham (aka Motor Racing Developments) in 1970 to Tauranac, his partner, who sold Brabham in 1972 to Ecclestone, who sold Brabham in 1988 to Luhti/Windsor, who sold the team in 1990 to MiddleBridge before it went broke in 1992.

Maybe somebody bought the right to use the name as apparently happened with March in 1993 when it went broke. Although I read that Herd (one of the original founders) tried to restart the March F1 team in ’99.

If this is the case then Jack Brabham doesn’t really have case as far as I am concerned, you sold it mate. But it seems like he just wants to distance himself from it.

Anyway, part of me thinks this is just a filling of applicants to scare FOTA, and there is no credibility to them. However, another part of me says “what do I know?” they could well be coming to the grid all prepared. If they do and March & Brabham are up mixing it with the best of them in 5 or so years, we’ll all be praising the return of the names.

So… good luck to all of them, that’s what I say. Ultimately though, there will be the existing 10 teams (maybe minus a manufacturer or 2, no more) and a few of the new entries (hopefully including Prodrive).

First March now Brabham, how many more potential new teams are using the names of classic teams even though they don’t have a real connection to the original team only that they bought the rights to the name.

Personally I don’t like it and if they do get into F1 I hope they change their name.

But its the same with Lotus, if another company has bought the rights to the famous name, how can anybody originally associated with it have any say in what it is used for?
Its their mistake for not holding onto the rights to use it.